This is the 8669th most frequent French word.
attaquées
"Attaquées" means "attacked" in English.
In this sentence, 'attaquées' is used as a past participle in the passive voice to describe the action done to the fortifications, which is being attacked.
Les fortifications ont été attaquées lors de la bataille.
The fortifications were attacked during the battle.
Here, 'attaquées' describes new ideas being subject to verbal or conceptual attack, expressing that critics often oppose innovative concepts.
Les idées nouvelles sont souvent attaquées par leurs détracteurs.
New ideas are often attacked by their critics.
In this example, 'attaquées' is used reflexively, indicating that the subject felt as though they were under attack in a metaphorical sense during the debate.